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I've always been a very creative person. My first job was in a little boutique in Lexington, Kentucky on the University of Kentucky campus. My job was to paint names or sorority symbols on any merchandise that could be painted. That included sorority bows, shirts, socks, cups, acrylic clipboards, vases, and much more!
It was so much fun! And I loved pleasing people. That is when I knew that I had to feed my creative juices and when I realized I'm a giver. The only way I knew how to keep those creative juices happy was to double major in Elementary Education and Family Therapy. That didn't last long. . .I thought I was going to have creative control of teaching and counseling, but the politics wore me out!

So. . .years later I put my creative flow into writing. Of course with all my other duties as a mom, wife, friend, etc. . .I also have a house that I have to decorate. Lucky me! I have that creative flow that is still going strong.

When I asked Melissa Lapierre to be our guest on READER MONDAY, I knew I had to know all about her history as a book blogger! I met Melissa when she blogged on my book, Carpe Bead 'em. She was such a delight to communicate with. I started following her blog because she has some great authors and books on there!! So be sure to follow the links below to check her out!!

Please welcome MELISSA LAPIERRE to READER MONDAY!!

I can't remember a time when I wasn't
a reader.

As a little girl I never wanted to take naps (my how that has changed
as I've aged!!!), so my Mom would plop me in my bed with a stack of books and
my childhood cat, Patch. 35 years later I'm still happiest surrounded by books
and cats.

In middle school I couldn't devour the Nancy Drew books from
the school library fast enough. Nancy was the beginning of my love of
mysteries. After that I discovered Agatha Christie, then dove into the
wonderful contemporary cozies that are so popular today.

My life has been CRAZY!! I mean CRAZY CRAZY! You know that my amazing wonderful husband just refinished my kitchen and my office!
Seriously! They are gorgeous!

Anyways....my husband had an awakening (due to a few decisions we have been making lately) that life is too short NOT to enjoy what you have and what we don't have is a pool and the five sport carpools that we are in. . .shew!
Okay. . .he had me at the five sport carpools that I DRIVE! Man, wouldn't it be nice not to be in my car all the time and be able to use that amazing new office he did for me?
I smiled because we just don't have room in our back yard for a pool, but still the dream of not being in the car all the time was very appealing. Looooong story short. . .my husband and I found a house! A house that is a couple streets away from my guys school, which means no carpools, AND a . . .

WOW! So we put a full price offer on the house and got it! Then. . .two mortgages?? UH! Wait. . .someone wants to buy my ho…

Authors have so many irons in the fire these days. My irons include being a GREAT wife (**wink**), raising three teenage boys, raising three fury kids, sister, daughter, niece, neighbor, employee, chauffeur, neighbor, patient, chef, therapist, and on and on. Any author would rattle off a list similar to mine.

So see, my life is really no different than yours. Only I write! And I write in two different genres: chick-lit and cozy mystery.

As you can see from my list, there isn't a lot of time left for me to write, which is why I'm always writing at my kid's practices, school functions, and anywhere I take them.

I have two target audiences for my career, the romance enthusiasts and the mystery lovers. I can't keep them happy all the time, but I can make an attempt.

My writing muse works a little different for me. I can not start a series and stop writing to start a different series. While the characters have taken residence in my head, I have to finish out their story. Cu…

Happy Monday! You know what that means! It's READER MONDAY and today I'm excited to introduce you to Teri Filkins! I met Teri on line and she is full of life and fun! Not to mention an amazing teacher, which is probably why we clicked. . .I use to teach and I admire her job! What better guest than a teacher who encourages her students to read??? Take it away Teri. . . .

Thank you for having me here today, Tonya, I am really enjoying your blogs! I am in awe of how you are able to accomplish so much with your days while also entertaining "us" with really great reads!

For several years, I ran the "Reader of the Month" program at our middle school. Once a reader was selected ( not necessarily a straight A student, but more importantly a "book worm"), I would meet with that student to give them a list of pre-interview questions. I've taken pictures of readers laying under the school marquee, kidding around in the library, strutting their stuff by fl…

I'm on tour with STRUNG OUT TO DIE and giving away lots of books!!! Be sure to follow along each day and enter to win!

Strung out to Die blurb:

Holly Harper’s life is finally getting back on the right track after her divorce from “what’s his name.” She and a group of divorcees have formed a strong bond plotting creative ways to get back at their exes and created a self-help group known as The Divorced Divas where their meetings are held in Holly’s bead store, The Beaded Dragonfly.
It’s no secret that Holly’s ex husband, Sean Harper, and the wealthiest bachelor in Swanee, Doug Sloan, don’t get along because Sean is constantly fixing all of Doug’s shoddy handy man work. Plus all the Divas would love to get their claws in some of Doug’s money.
When Doug ends up dead on the floor of The Beaded Dragonfly with a string of cat eye beads around his neck, it’s up to Holly to figure out whose framing her.

I'm so excited about our second Monday of the new year and a new series that I'm featuring on Mondays. I'm calling it READER MONDAY (Yeah, creative...I know.)

The one thing that you should know about me is that I'm all about me readers! I love connecting with them here on the blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and in person. There is nothing more fun than getting together with people who love to read! Go on over to my website and check out my news and events for places I will be traveling to this year. I hope y'all let me know if you live near these places because I would love to hook up! So when I decided to move my blog to reader friendly, I wanted to let readers have a day where they can talk about books, why they like books, who they like, how they fit riding into their busy lives, or anything that strikes their fancy! I'm pretty open to anything. This week I'd like to give a big WELCOME to another one of my STREET TEAM members Crystal Bozeman …

I'm so excited to welcome the first Monday of the new year and a new series that I'm going to be featuring on Mondays. I'm calling it READER MONDAY (Yeah, creative...I know.)

The one thing that you should know about me is that I'm all about me readers! I love connecting with them here on the blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and in person. There is nothing more fun than getting together with people who love to read! Go on over to my website and check out my news and events for places I will be traveling to this year. I hope y'all let me know if you live near these places because I would love to hook up!

So when I decided to move my blog to reader friendly, I wanted to let readers have a day where they can talk about books, why they like books, who they like, how they fit riding into their busy lives, or anything that strikes their fancy! I'm pretty open to anything.

I'm excited to have my first guest reader today. Lori Hickey is a member of my …

Gosh! I absolutely love the new year! Not only does it bring a new beginning to a lot of people, but it brings a new sense of hope, love, and life!

Last year my guys and I had a few health scares along with a couple deaths in the family, but we didn't dwell on those things. We took care of business (as my adorable husband says!) and moved on.

Last year was also the year we decided to upgrade out thirty year old house! Talk about a mess! And I'm so excited to start the new year with a new kitchen, bathroom, and office!

AND starting the new year as a full time writer is an AMAZING FEELING!!!

Plus all the great things that I have lined up are now starting to fall into place! I've got a lot of wonderful things happening for readers in 2013 and can't wait to tell you all about it....it's super secret right now....

Anyways, starting Monday January 7, 2013, I will sit down at my desk and begin my 2013! It's been having a couple weeks off, but I love writing, writing f…